Final Feasts: A Look Back at the Last Meals of Famous People

There’s a kind of strange fascination attached to deaths, especially those of celebrities and notorious criminals. You want to know the details, but you also want to hide under your bed and pretend death doesn’t happen. We get it.

No matter how you live life, everyone goes the same way regardless. The final moments in the lives of pop-culture figures are intriguing, and we find ourselves wondering whether or not they felt death approaching, and whether they feasted on their favorite sandwich before they croaked.

Did Hitler think eating spaghetti would redeem him from a life of genocide and war? Is root beer and Camel Lights the only thing you can stomach when faced with suicidal thoughts? These questions, and so many others, remain unanswerable. It’s disconcerting thinking about what a human being craves in those last moments, but also morbidly fascinating.

Take a look through the last meals of the good, the bad, and Liberace.

Ted Bundy

Died: January 24, 1989 in Florida State Prison
Last meal: Ted Bundy declined to choose a final meal, according to Crime Museum. Instead, he was given the death row staple: medium-rare steak, eggs over easy, hash browns, toast, juice, milk, and coffee.
On a side note: Bundy has gone down in history as "the handsome killer," because many of his female victims approached his car without fear.
Did he know it was his last meal? Yes. He confessed to 30 murders.

Timothy McVeigh

Died: June 11, 2001 Terre Haute, IN
Last meal: Two pints of mint chocolate-chip ice cream. We could see how creamy ice cream would ease your pre-death jitters.
On a side note: McVeigh was the mind behind the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Biography records the death toll at 168.
Did he know it was his last meal? Yes. McVeigh was convicted on charges of conspiracy and murder.

Kurt Cobain

Died: April 5, 1994 in Seattle, WA
Last meal: It's rumored that the Nirvana frontman's last meal was a can of root beer and Camel Lights.
On a side note: Cobain's suicide note has been widely publicized since his 1994 death, ending with the line, "It's better to burn out than to fade away."
Did he know it was his last meal? Yes. Cobain shot himself after a long struggle with depression.

Cleopatra

Died: August 12, 30 BC in Alexandria, Egypt
Last meal: After Anthony's death, Cleopatra ate a meal of figs, according to historical conjecture. She chased them with the poisonous venom of an asp (a small southern European viper). Ouch.
On a side note: During her life, Cleopatra and Mark Antony formed a drinking club called The Inimitable Livers, reports The History Channel.
Did she know it was her last meal? Absolutely.

John Wayne Gacy

Died: May 10, 1994 in Crest Hill, IL
Last meal: A bucket of KFC original fried chicken, french fries, 12 deep-fried shrimp, and a pound of strawberries, according to Crime Museum.
On a side note: John Wayne Gacy, called "The Killer Clown," killed more than 30 young men and boys. The Huffington Post reports that Gacy buried the bodies underneath his home.
Did he know it was his last meal? Yes. Gacy had been on death row for 14 years.

Elvis Presley

Died: August 16, 1977 in Memphis, TN
Last meal:Elvis had a sleepless night and went to the kitchen for his normal midnight snack: four scoops of ice cream and six chocolate chip cookies.
On a side note: Famous for his terrible eating habits, Elvis' culinary legacy is his favorite sandwich. Throw bacon, peanut butter, and banana between two slices of bread and you're channeling The King.
Did he know it was his last meal? No. Elvis got up later in the night with indigestion, headed to the bathroom, and had a fatal heart attack.

Abraham Lincoln

Died: April 15, 1865 in Washington, D.C.
Last meal: Before leaving for his last trip to the theater, Lincoln ate an elaborate meal. Courses included mock turtle soup, roast Virginia fowl with chestnut stuffing, baked yams, and cauliflower with cheese.
On a side note:Food Timeline reports that Lincoln reportedly felt indifferent to most food. Observers said that he truly enjoyed only hot coffee and apples.
Did he know it was his last meal? No. If you're surprised to hear that Lincoln was assassinated at Ford Theatre, go back to third grade history.

Aileen Wuornos

Died: October 9, 2002 in Florida State Prison
Last meal: Before her death by lethal injection, Wuornos downed a single cup of coffee from the prison's canteen, reports Dead Man Eating.
On a side note: Wuornos, a mentally ill hitchhiking prostitute who murdered six men, is portrayed by Charlize Theron in the 2003 film Monster.
Did she know it was her last meal? Yes. Wuornos changed her story many years after the crimes and eventually began telling reporters that she was guilty and should be taken out of society.

Julia Child

Died: August 13, 2004 in Montecito, CA
Last meal: In tasteful, classic Julia Child fashion, the beloved television chef, ate a bowl of French onion soup for her last meal.
On a side note: Julia Child is widely credited for popularizing French food among the American public.
Did she know it was her last meal? No. Child died of kidney failure.

Marilyn Monroe

Died: August 5, 1962 in Los Angeles, CA
Last meal: Marilyn Monroe's last meal was, like the actress herself, opulent. The movie star ate stuffed mushrooms and meatballs while drinking Dom Perignon, reports The National Post.
On a side note: There are several theories about Monroe's death. Some think the mob bullied her into suicide, while others think she overdosed accidentally. Whatever the case, Monroe's doctors found her body early in the morning after her death.
Did she know it was her last meal? Up for debate.

Hitler

Died: April 30, 1945 in Berlin, Germany
Last meal: Once Hitler decided he'd lost the war for good, he and Eva Braun had a light lunch of spaghetti and red sauce. Apparently, Hitler wanted to hear nothing about the war during the meal, so they talked about lipstick and dog breeding. Then he went into his office and shot himself. Braun followed, killing herself with poison.
On a side note: Hitler and Braun had only been married for about 40 hours.
Did he know it was his last meal? Most definitely.

Liberace

Died: February 4, 1987 in Palm Springs, CA
Last meal: Liberace's cook reported that his last meal was a bowl of Cream of Wheat with half-and-half as well as brown sugar.
On a side note: Liberace spent his entire life vehemently denying that he was gay.
Did he know it was his last meal? No, but he may have suspected. Liberace died from an AIDS-related illness.

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